An estimated 18.2 million people in the United States, 6.3 percent of the population, have diabetes, a serious, lifelong condition. The major forms of diabetes are Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease resulting in the destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas so that the pancreas then produces little or no insulin. A person who has Type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to live. The most common form of diabetes is Type 2 diabetes. In the United States, about 10% of people aged 40 to 59 and 20% of the people 60 years of age and older have Type 2 diabetes. This disease is the 6th leading cause of death and contributes to development of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, kidney disease and nerve damage. Although several treatments are available for diabetes, about 15-32% of the patients fail to maintain glycemic control with monotherapy. (Kahn et al, NEJM 355:23 (2006)) Type 2 diabetes remains a significant health problem and has a cost to the health care system of at least 174 billion dollars. (Dall et al, Diabetes Care 31:1-20 (2008))
Type 2 diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, previous history of gestational diabetes, physical inactivity, and ethnicity. When Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas is usually producing enough insulin, but for unknown reasons, the body cannot use the insulin effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. After several years, insulin production decreases, and insulin must be administered orally or via injection to maintain glucose homeostasis, as in Type 1 diabetes.
In the early stages of Type 2 Diabetes, therapy consists of diet, exercise and weight loss, later to be followed by various drugs which can increase the output of the pancreas or decrease the requirement for insulin, and finally administration of insulin directly. Pharmaceuticals for treatment of diabetes are members of five classes of drugs: sulfonylureas, meglitinides, biguanides, thiazolidinediones, and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. These five classes of drugs work in different ways to lower blood glucose levels. Some increase insulin output from the pancreas, some decrease glucose output by affecting liver function. Even with such treatment, some patients do not achieve glycemic control.
Exenatide is the first in a new class of drugs called incretin mimetics, for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Exenatide is a synthetic version of exendin-4, a naturally-occurring hormone that was first isolated from the saliva of the lizard known as a Gila monster. Exenatide works to lower blood glucose levels primarily by mimicking the action of GLP-1 to increase insulin secretion. Because it only has this effect in the presence of elevated blood glucose levels, it does not tend to increase the risk of hypoglycemia on its own, although hypoglycemia can occur if it is taken in conjunction with a sulfonylurea. The primary side effect is nausea, which tends to improve over time. Patients using exenatide have generally experienced modest weight loss as well as improved glycemic control.
More recently, a new class of medications called DPP-4 inhibitors has been developed which work by preventing the breakdown of a gut hormone, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1). GLP-1 reduces blood glucose levels in the body, but has a half-life 2 minutes, and therefore does not work well when injected as a drug itself. By interfering in the process that breaks down GLP-1, DPP-4 inhibitors allow it to remain active in the body longer, lowering blood glucose levels only when they are elevated. DPP-4 inhibitors do not tend to cause weight gain and tend to have a neutral or positive effect on cholesterol levels. Sitagliptin is currently the only DPP-4 inhibitor on the market.
A third category of therapy for Type 2 Diabetics has emerged in the last 10 years, and is increasing in popularity for certain patients. This involves gastric procedures such as various types of gastric bypass, and gastric restrictive techniques. Unexpectedly, these procedures have demonstrated resolution of Type 2 diabetics (for 75-85% of the patients), often within 2-3 days of the procedure, and independent of weight loss. Most patients have been morbidly obese (Body Mass Index, BMI>40), but evolving techniques are allowing the procedures to be applied to patients with BMI>35, and even over-weight or slightly obese patients. However, these surgical options are costly and have risks for the patient both before and after the surgery.
Methods of treating diabetes by upregulating neural activity have been described. Some of these methods for treating diabetes involve directly stimulating pancreatic cells, or parasympathetic/sympathetic tissue which directly innervates the pancreas. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,988 to Wernicke discloses application of a low frequency electrical signal to the vagus nerve to increase the secretion of endogenous insulin. U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,114 to Whitehurst describes the delivery of low frequency signals to at least one parasympathetic tissue innervating the pancreas to stimulate of pancreatic beta cells to increase insulin secretion. U.S. Pat. No. 7,167,751 to Whitehurst describes methods to relieve endocrine disorders by stimulating the vagus nerve.
Other studies indicate that the role of the vagus nerve with regard to regulation of insulin and blood glucose is not clear. A recent study suggests that damaging the afferent hepatic vagus nerve can inhibit the development of insulin resistance in mice treated with dexamethasone. (Bernal-Mizrachi et al., Cell Metabolism, 2007, 5:91). In rats, some studies indicate that vagotomy induces insulin resistance and in other studies, electrical stimulation induces insulin resistance. (Matsuhisa et al, Metabolism 49:11-16 (2000); Peitl et al., Metabolism 54:579 (2005)). In another mouse model, hepatic vagotomy suppressed increases in insulin sensitivity due to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor expression. (Uno et al, 2006, Science 312:1656)
Despite the availability of many therapies, Type 2 diabetes remains a major health issue. Many of the therapies have undesirable side effects, do not achieve adequate glycemic control, or adequate glycemic control is not maintained. Thus, there remains a need to develop systems and methods for regulating glucose and/or treating diabetes.